Reason of Shadow
by Elioma
Summary: You can handle being captured. Finding out he is also torturing your brother changes everything. Set somewhere in season 2 of the 2012 series. *Warning: graphic violence and psychological torture* Cover art by the amazing Ray-Ken. The link to her work: ray-ken (dot) deviantart (dot) com/
1. Chapter 1

When he woke up, nothing was clear. His equilibrium was swirling and he couldn't move far without something stopping him, but besides that, everything fell into a haze. After a moment, he realized there were rings around his wrists, cold like metal and keeping his arms close to the wall at his back. Instinct shot through him and he was, for a second, halfway alert, but even that he had to fight to keep.

"Wh… what's happening?"

He tugged once more on one of the rings though he knew it was useless; at this point, he didn't even have the strength to clench a fist.

:[8]:

"Anyone heard from Leo yet?" Donnie asked the others around the table.

"Why would we have?" Raph asked around pizza. "You're his contact."

"Yeah but…." Donnie sighed. "I was hoping maybe he'd talked to you first."

Raph's slice stopped halfway to his mouth. "You don't think he's still mad about you blowing up the TV this morning in the name of research, do you? He's fine. He'll be back when he's ready."

Mikey gasped. "Dude… my pizza's totally looking at me!" His voice lowered gradually to a quiet wheeze of fear.

"Oh no, not again," Raph groaned with a facepalm. "The pizza won't eat you, Mikey."

"Darn right! Not if I eat it first!" With that, Mikey stuffed the whole thing gleefully into his mouth, earning an eye roll from Raph.

Across the table, Donnie just sighed and stared wistfully at his silent T-phone.


	2. Chapter 2

That night, Raph woke up to a shake that was so gentle he almost missed it. After a quick assessment, he recognized he was in his own bed and the assailant therefore did not need to be neutralized. At least, not unless this was for something stupid. With a sleepy moan, he rolled over and dimly perceived Donnie standing over him. "What is it, Donnie?"

"Leo's still not back yet. What have I done, Raph?"

It took Raph a few blinks to register. Donnie just stood beside him with his head down in shame and concern. "What do you want me to do about it? He's fine. Nothing in this city can touch him."

"I know, but… what if it did?"

"What? Touch him? Then they're long dead," Raph muttered, rolling back over and pulling the blanket over his shoulder.

"Please Raph."

"What do you want me to do?" Raph asked louder, sitting up abruptly. "Leo… is fine. I would just be insulting him to track him down when he needs space."

"But what if something's wrong?"

Raph paused. "You can really look me in the eye and, knowing everything we've been through and fought off, tell me you think he's in trouble? He just needs a day. Let him have it."

"Seriously, Raph. When have you ever known Leo to stay away this long? Ever?"

Raph was about to shake it off and tell him once more Leo was fine, but upon consideration, Donnie was right. Leo would never stay out this long. At this point, he was shirking responsibility, which he rarely did for something as petty as a TV fight. "It's probably just a buildup of having to deal with the two of you for too long, but if it means you'll let me sleep when I get back, then I'll go look for him. But if he gets mad at me for invasion, you're paying for it." He stood up and walked over to the other side of his room.

"Thank you, Raph."

"And what are you going to do in the meantime? I should make you come with me," Raph chided, tucking his sai into their holsters. "Or better yet, go yourself. You may be A- team, but there's nothing in this city you can't handle, either."

"Thank you," Donnie replied with brief smugness. "But I will be searching for him the same way I have been all day."

"And that would be?"

"Tracking his T-phone. I can't triangulate his signal yet. Which actually helps me narrow down where he could be based on dead zones. I can show you the map before you leave."

"Yeah, unless he's in trouble, in which case the T-phone would have been smashed by now, right?"

"I'm avoiding the possibility until all other options are dry. Just make sure you stay in touch with me so I know when you've found him."

Raph pushed past him into the hallway. "Why can't you just track me? If you already know where I am, that shouldn't be so hard, right?"

"I guess. But, Raph?" the extra vulnerability in Donnie's voice halted him. "I have a really bad feeling. Please just be careful and find him."

Raph put a hand on Donnie's shoulder and said gently, "He's fine. I'll stay in touch." Then he turned, vaulted over the turnstiles, and disappeared, leaving Donnie to trudge to his over-powered tracking computer with drooped shoulders.


	3. Chapter 3

Leo stood with sturdy feet planted in a fighting stance even though he knew it likely wouldn't do any good. Once whatever was in his blood had worn off, he regained full situational awareness: he'd been captured. His hands were tucked firmly against the wall by cuffs on chains, but that was the only thing confining him. His legs were free and he even still had his weapons on his back. It looked like he was in some kind of warehouse. There were concrete walls and boxes draped with black fabric, but besides that, the room was fairly sparse. But the first thing he noticed was his captor staring into his eyes.

The standoff was all they had. Neither of them said anything. Leo lowered himself as much as he could into a coil, but the man just stood there, staring at him with a hate Leo didn't understand.

"Let me go," Leo finally demanded, although he would have been deeply suspicious had the order actually been carried out.

The man didn't respond. Barely even moved.

"What do you want? Why am I here? Where are we?" These questions were fired out with malice, but there was still no response. Finally, Leo relaxed to a normal stand in bewilderment. "What _do_ you want?"

The man suddenly stood tense and erect, then flew towards Leo. Leo braced one foot against the wall and lashed out with the other in a defensive kick, but the man evaded it. The fist slamming against the side of his face was the last thing Leo felt before the world fell back into blackness.


	4. Chapter 4

Once on a rooftop, Raph allowed the blast of cold wind to wake him up. If he was going to do this, he might as well be alert enough to catch anything out of the ordinary.

"Okay, Donnie," he said with minor irritation into his T-phone. "Where's the nearest dead zone?"

"I wouldn't exactly call it near…."

"Just tell me where to go."

"North. Out of the city."

"Out of the… Donnie!"

"No, Raph, seriously. He might not even be in the city anymore. He's been gone long enough to get out there."

Raph raised an eyebrow before grudgingly heading in the indicated direction. "We're not talking country or anything, right? Just like, you know, suburbia or something like that."

"Something like that."

"Whatever. Just get me there." He hung up and sprinted down the roof with a yawn, giving himself enough momentum to make it to the building across the street.

After two hours, once the skyscrapers seemed to sink into the ground, Raph's T-phone rang, halting his spree. When he picked up, there was only silence. "Um… Donnie?"

"Raph! Thank goodness!"

"Okay… uh… what's wrong?"

"Your signal disappeared. Leo might be close to you."

Raph began glancing around, then paused. "Wait, if I'm in a dead zone, how did you get through?"

"That's the thing – you're not _in_ a dead zone. There's something else blocking the signal. It doesn't jam cell phones, apparently, just tracking signals."

"So why didn't we just _call_ him?"

"I tried that. He didn't answer."

"So, in other words, either he's just chilling somewhere outside the city or he's in trouble."

"I don't think he'd leave the city, Raph."

Raph glanced through the streets below. "Your bad feeling is starting to seem contagious. I'll glance around this area for a little bit. Just make sure you tell me when he comes back. Don't leave me hanging out here."

"No worries."

Leo was fine. He was sure of that. Too much had been going on and he just needed space. They all did. But Donnie's concern was starting to seep through Raph's confidence. After two hours, Leo hadn't moved out of the dead zone – or track-free zone – enough for Donnie to catch his signal. Even if he was upset, he'd be moving, right? Unless he's just sleeping out here, but he wouldn't be so dumb as to leave himself so exposed.

Unless something was wrong.

"Stop it," Raph told himself, ducking his head into his elbows. "We're all just being paranoid."

It wasn't long, though, before he heard a trashcan drop violently some ways away. He turned toward the sound as a jolt of panic spiked through him. Trash cans get knocked over all the time. That didn't mean anything. But it _had_ sounded like someone had run into it. Like in a fight. And it was his only lead right now.

Raph closed his eyes briefly and then tore off after it. "Calm down, calm down, calm down," he chanted to himself as he ran, but there was panic rising up inside him. Something was going down, and he couldn't stop the lightning in his gut that told him Leo was at the center of it. Why hadn't he listened to Donnie earlier?

Sliding to a stop at the edge of a roof overlooking a parking lot, he saw the source of the commotion: Purple Dragons.

Raph exhaled, panting, and covered his eyes. While it was strange to see Purple Dragons so far out here, there's no way _they_ could have Leo.

 _So do I go down there and stomp some Dragons, or do I let them do their thing and try to find Leo, who I'm sure is fine?_

After deciding he might as well watch them for a moment to see what they were doing, he reached for his T-phone to call Donnie. "I found some Purple Dragons," he began.

"What? Way out there?"

"Do you have my signal yet?"

"No. Still silent."

"I see an old rubber factory, I think I'm standing on an abandoned church, and I'm pretty sure the residential district is just over the hill to the east."

"Okay, I know where you are. Do you think they have Leo?"

"No way. I just wanted you to know so we can investigate later."

"Agreed. I'll mark it. Do you want to watch them to see if you can figure anything out?"

"I was planning on it. I could use a good fight about now. But I'm not doing anything if they don't look dangerous."

He hung up, then knelt down. He needed a distraction, anyway. After all, Leo was fine. No use working up a panic.

But panic was all he had when he noticed the long strip of blue dangling from a knot around a Dragon wrist.

The air went from his lungs quicker than if he'd been punched, and he took a step back, trying to find breath. _There's no way_.

It took only a few seconds for the daze to pass, but his skull still felt padded with disorientation and rage. As he prepared to jump down, he suddenly felt a sliver invade the skin on the back of his neck. Fluidly, he pulled out his sai and spun around to stab whoever was behind him. There was solid contact, but immediately after, his vision twisted and his sai dropped from his hand – he knew because he heard the clatter at his feet. He took a step to the side to balance and tried to see who was there with him.

"Don't worry. You'll be fine when it wears off."

His left hand fumbled for his other sai, but he couldn't find the holster and was suddenly on one knee. "No," he breathed, losing track of the sky before the ground was yanked out from under him. "Leo."


	5. Chapter 5

"Did you have a nice coffee break?" Leo asked when the man reappeared. He didn't know how long he was out, but the throb below his eye said it had probably been for a while.

The man just sat down on a box and faced him. They stared at each other for a moment before Leo released a frustrated sigh.

"Oh come on. You must have _something_ to say. Are you the one in charge here? Are you holding ransom? Staging a red herring? Looking for a hobby? I'm sure I can come up with more."

The response was low and steady, coming after a short pause. "Why do you always need to know why?"

"Ah," Leo said with an exaggerated smile. "You _can_ talk." But then the smile faded as the words began connecting. "Wait… always? Do I know you?"

The man remained unnervingly stoic. "I don't need to. You're all the same."

Leo bit his lip and tilted his head in confusion.

Some passion entered the man's expression, but it was almost imperceptible as he continued in near-monotone. "You're supposed to be silent. Still. Shadows unseen even in sunlight. But you always have to investigate. Always have to know why."

Leo tried to process the words, but nothing quite added up. "Who are you talking about?"

"Ninjas."

There was a heavy pause. "What?!" Was this guy for real? _That's_ why he was being held? Because this guy had something against ninjas?

He shifted his sheaths against the wall, the weight of his swords tauntingly close. He'd never drawn them with his feet before, but this might be a good time to try.

"I heard you were here in New York and came to find you. After everything else, you have the audacity to branch out into other places that never wanted you, either. You barely belong in the homeland."

" _Find_ me? You're doing this because I'm a _ninja?_ " Suddenly the black cloth became clear – they were cloaks. Leo snapped forward against his chains in a rage. "Have you been _killing_ them?"

"What else would I be doing to them? And what more fitting fate? To let you fade into the night with which you so deeply desire to be one."

Leo slacked down against the chains in shock. He had to get out of here. And he had to do it before the guys came looking for him.

"Mind the feet this time," the man said.

Leo barely had enough time to look up before the man's body was hurtled into his chest. As the man backed up for another slam, Leo brought his leg up and caught the man under the armpit. With the momentum of the kick, Leo was able to throw him to the floor.

"No way I'm letting you touch me."

The man stayed on the floor briefly and held his side. "Then we'll just have to fix that." Glancing around, he retrieved a short two-by-four which he wielded like a bat straight into Leo's forehead.


	6. Chapter 6

Raph awoke to the same disorientation that had put him out. Discovering that opening his eyes required too much energy, he just felt around to gain his bearings. Or tried to, anyway. When he tried to move his arms, they were stopped by metal that snaked around his wrists. The realization pulled a frustrated gasp from him, but even so, he felt himself sliding back under the thick fog that pressed him to the floor. Only the image of Leo's bandana rippling by the Dragon's thigh kept him conscious and searching for a way out. He had to find a way out. He had to find Leo.

Grunting with the effort of staying alert, he yanked blindly on the cuffs, finding them maddeningly strong. Once he realized his legs were free, he even tried kicking the cuffs, but couldn't get his feet very far off the ground. Finally, frustrated and slightly worn out, he just focused on opening his eyes to see where he stood.

It looked like a cell. Metal walls, no door to speak of. Chains everywhere. _Everywhere_. Scattered on the floor. Dangling from the ceiling. Draped across the walls. He had to blink a few times to absorb it all.

After a moment to compose himself, he glanced at the cuffs to see if there was a keyhole he could reach. There was none that he could see, but he was sure there was _something_ he could pry apart, so he raised his foot to try to reach the knife in the binding around his ankle. He was still hopping for balance when a door slammed open almost directly behind him, startling him enough that he would have fallen had he not been chained. At least that explained the no-door situation.

"If you don't let me out of here," Raph threatened before he even saw who was walking in, "there won't be enough left of you for your mother to recognize."

The man walked into the room and hovered amidst the dangling chains. Raph waited for the man to respond, but there was nothing. Once the silence became uncomfortable, Raph tried, "So… why am I here?"

The man didn't even twitch.

"You're not Kraang, are you?"

This at least earned him a raised eyebrow. _Okay, no more mention of the aliens. But if he doesn't know about them, then he's not Kraang, and he's not Foot, and he's not Dragon. Then who_ is _he?_

"Look, you! I need to get out of here. I don't know what you're playing at, but they have my brother, and if something happens to him while you're holding me here-"

"I don't have a mother."

Raph blinked a few times, startled momentarily. "What? That's it? Did you hear me?! Let me out!" He started flailing his feet toward the man even though he knew he was far out of range.

"Ah, yes, I should have known that would be a problem. Silly me." The man pulled out a gun and aimed it at Raph, who stilled and growled, channeling all his anger into the eye contact they maintained. When the trigger was pulled, all Raph felt was a small sting in his arm, followed by intense disorientation. It took a moment for him to realize a cuff had been clamped around one foot, and the second foot was being shifted to reach the chain of another.

"They… they have… Leo…."

"Don't worry about it. You won't live long enough to know what happened to him."

He saw a few punches hit his chest and abdomen, but he was too out of it to register what was happening or even to feel the pain.

After a moment, the man stepped back and disappeared from Raph's closing visual range. "I'll come back when you're more prepared." The air pressing into Raph's brain reduced the click of the door to a muffled echo.

Raph didn't pass out as he would have expected following disorientation like that. Rather, he just hovered in a daze for more minutes than he could count. When it started wearing off, he became aware of a deepening ache in his torso, one that gradually strengthened enough to steal his breath.


	7. Chapter 7

Leo jolted awake to a stab shooting through his skull. It only took a moment for him to remember where he was and to wish the guy would stop hitting him in the head. Blood trickled around his eye and skirted past the corner of his mouth.

Suddenly remembering why he'd last been hit, he twisted around to look at his feet – now also chained to the wall. He sighed, mourning the loss of his last defense, then tensed as the man suddenly appeared from behind a stack of boxes. To hide the sudden sense of vulnerability, Leo scoffed, "Don't you have anything better to do than to knock me out and watch me sleep? I mean, seriously, what do you want from me?"

But the man had fallen once more into silence.

"Great. Not talking. Does that mean you're going to just hit me again?"

Without a word, the man turned and delicately, almost reverently selected one of the cloaks. It soared through the air before settling on his back. He wasn't wearing it anywhere close to correctly, but he didn't seem to mind. Briefly adjusting the fabric around the collar, he pulled up a hood. When he turned around, his face had completely disappeared into the deep shadow of the hood cast by the weird lighting in the room. With the final addition of long, black gloves, he became shadow itself.

Uncertain curiosity overcame Leo, but before it really set in, the shadow lurched toward him faster than he could see and pummeled his fists against Leo's torso. Leo resisted the blows at first, but the shock and the persistent force eventually wrenched out a cry with every strike. When the blows ceased, the shadow instantly pressed him against the wall, compressing every bruise all at once. As the pain stabbed through his breath, Leo's head braced against the shadow's shoulder and he panted with broken rhythm.

After a moment, Leo felt his blades scraping against their sheaths as they slowly lifted from his back. The shadow stepped away, testing the new weapons in his hand, spinning them calmly, then placing one tip on Leo's chest. It dragged down his shell, making Leo grimace, but not much more. After a pause, the blade eased its way under Leo's chin and lifted his head. Leo tried not to let the sudden facelessness of the man get to him. The man hadn't changed.

"You know," Leo grunted, "for someone who hates ninjas so much…" he had to pause to suck a breath in through clenched teeth, "you sure do move a lot like one."

The shadow's wrist flicked the blade away, then slashed it down against Leo's arm, spinning it so it struck twice in rapid succession, drawing a brief shout from Leo.

When the shadow spoke, it was with a voice that had become deep and raspy, almost inhuman. "That's because I _am_ one."

Leo barely had time to entertain the confusion that set in before the shadow was suddenly beside him once more, jabbing a needle into Leo's neck and forcing a red, glowing liquid into his veins.

Nothing happened at first, but then, slowly, the injection spread down his back and chest, tracked by an acidic burn that left Leo surprised his skin wasn't incinerating. In the beginning, he was able to keep his reaction to a few almost-controlled gasps, but then, quickly, as the acid consumed every vein, he became helpless against the screams.


	8. Chapter 8

Raph had been alone long enough to settle into a simmering rage. The ache in his muscles had finally relaxed, but even before that, he'd become fed up with this place. When the door swung open again, he was well ready for a fight.

But no one came through the door right away, and the pause was enough to dampen Raph's thunder. The effect was furthered when a cloaked man who appeared as shadow glided in and stood before him.

"Great. Now we're costuming. Seriously, you're going to regret this."

The responding silence was maddening. Like talking to something without a soul.

"Say something!" Raph raged, jerking forward. He let forth a frustrated roar, then settled back. "Fine. Whatever. Stare as long as you like. Just remember what I said." He turned his head away, but kept the shadow in his peripheral.

As the silence sank in, he became aware of something tainting it, something like screaming. Someone else was here? He narrowed his eyes, listening, trying to comprehend, and then, slowly, realization hit him. " _You_ have him?! You have _Leo?!"_ Two pants, and then Raph jerked down against the chains as hard as he could, shouting with the effort. He swore he felt them give, but then the shadow pulled out a katana and held it to Raph's throat.

Forcing himself to relax despite the manic fury swirling through him, he defaulted to simply lowering his head and glowering down Leo's sword at the shadow. After several loaded seconds, Raph's eyes slid shut as it became impossible to ignore the pulses of panic slamming into him from the direction of Leo's screams.

"Okay, new deal," Raph offered, trying to steady the quiver in his voice. "Let Leo go. If you do, I'll let you do anything you want to me. Without fighting back."

The shadow twisted the sword slightly for a more dramatic angle. "Where's the fun in that?"

Raph wasn't sure what was more unsettling, the words or the deep, rasping voice. Whichever it was, it sent a shockwave through his stomach. "Then I'll _do_ anything you want. Within reason."

"Your idea of reason and mine are clearly different."

"Look you…!" Raph couldn't stop his sudden advance, ignoring the prick on the side of his throat. He took a calming sigh before trying again. "Just let him go. We'll work out our terms later, but I promise I won't fight it as long as you don't make me hurt anyone. But don't hurt him anymore and I want proof that he's free."

The shadow took a step back as if to consider, but Raph refused to relax into hope.

"What would I get in return?"

Raph faltered. "I- I don't know." Hesitation. "Please just let him go. I'm serious. I'll stay with you forever in exchange. I don't know what you would want, but I'll do it."

The shadow grunted gutturally. "What I want? I want you dead."

"O- okay. No resistance. But I need proof first."

"I want you in agony. I want you to pay. And I want it to be at my hand."

"Fine! Whatever!"

"Convince me why I shouldn't kill you."

"Aren't you paying attention? If it means you'll free Leo then go ahead!"

"But I want to kill you slowly. With your brother's blade. With your own sai. You will feel every inch of your skin burn. And I want you to want to die long before I actually let you. You are willing to do that for his release?"

Raph could hear Leo's voice in his head begging him not to do it, to not do anything so stupid, that he'd be fine. Leo would never forgive either of them if he knew that his release was only in exchange for Raph's death, painful or otherwise. But what Leo would think didn't matter. Not in the face of his screams, still echoing through the cavernous passageways, reaching all the way into the chain-soaked cell and searing through Raph's entire being.

"Yes."

The answer hung in the air for a moment, mingling with the echoes from the hall. "But I can do that to you anyway, and believe me, I will."

Raph clenched his teeth in rising desperation. He had nothing to bargain with, not even his life, but there had to be something. There _had_ to be _something_. "What do you want from him, anyway?"

"Same thing I want from you."

"Then what does it matter as long as you have one of us? You can even unchain me, let me writhe if that would work better for you. I won't run. You can have me. But you can't have Leo."

"It matters because he's a ninja," the shadow responded, his voice gliding through the rasp. "There is nothing you can say to change that."

Raph weakened momentarily in shock. "Because he's… he's a _what_? This is a vendetta? Don't hurt Leo just because he's a ninja! I don't care _what_ you have against ninjas, Leo didn't do it! And I didn't either, but I'm willing to overlook that if you let him go!" He was shouting again, straining against the chains, unaware of the way the metal tore through his wrists and ankles.

The shadow was silent, and, between the heavy pants, Raph suddenly became aware that the silence was complete again.

"What happened to him?" Raph tried to make sure the rage made it out before the fear, but he honestly couldn't tell which dominated his voice. "Why isn't he… what happened?"

The shadow glided to the door, but only to close them in. Raph let his head hang in panic and rage and frustration and innumerable other things he couldn't name as the shadow drifted back before him.

"You need to taste before you decide that letting your life end in my hands is worth the life of your brother."

" _Anything_ is worth the life of my brother," Raph spat. In answer, the shadow jammed a fist into Raph's abdomen, forcing him to curl up with a grunt around the sudden pressure.

"You can't say that without experience," the voice hissed in his ear, the pressure maintaining. "Without knowing what I can do to you."

"It won't matter," Raph asserted through a thoroughly broken voice. "You can't break me."

"You don't even know if he's alive." The fist left as suddenly as it came, and Raph grunted with the release, but then let his weight fall entirely to his wrists as the silence permeated his skull, stole his strength, his resolve. In the wake of his realization, he didn't even think to fight the needle at his neck. As the acid stole through his veins, he clenched his teeth, then the grunts gave way to screams and uncontrollable tension bound his muscles.

His voice bounced around the room, slamming back into him, echoing through him, and suddenly he understood. This is what happened to Leo. _If I live, I'll know he's fine. If not, there's nothing I could do, anyway._

Soon the tension racking Raph's muscles was enough to wrench one of the chains from the wall, but Raph only used his newly-freed limb to curl into himself, to try to bar himself against the pain from nowhere. The shadow took a step back in shock, but then just watched as Raph pressed his side into the wall, clawing aimlessly at his own chest and still-bound arm, fighting deliriously. It wasn't until something clicked in Raph's head and his hand began to struggle toward his sai that the shadow approached.


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning, the lair was cloaked in its typical pre-training quiet when Mikey woke up. As usual, he dragged himself out to the kitchen, waking up as he walked. As he trudged through the empty living room, he suddenly became aware it wasn't quite so empty. A low, steady beep and a stifled yawn drew his attention to the other side of the room. "Donnie? Have you been up all night?"

"Off and on. I've been tracking Raph. Kind of…."

Mikey took a few steps closer. He didn't understand what was going on, but it was bound to be interesting. "Raph? What for?" Then he gasped accusatorily. "Donnie! You're _spying_ on us again!"

"No I'm not spying!" Donnie paused to calm down before returning his attention to his blank screen. "He's looking for Leo."

"Leo's not back yet?!" Breakfast was abandoned. "We have to go help them!" Mikey turned and started a sprint toward the turnstiles, but was halted by Donnie's next assertion.

"I'm not sure they're in danger."

Mikey stopped and spun back around so quickly he almost fell. "Donnie. Leo's been gone for almost 24 hours, and now you're telling me Raph's disappeared looking for him. They're in trouble! Let's go!" He used his hands to emphasize his words.

Donnie angled his head away, lowering his eyes. "I don't know where they are."

Mikey blinked. "You don't- but I thought you were tracking Raph."

"He's in a dead zone. He still has reception, but something is blocking my tracking signal."

"So let's call him."

Donnie shook his head and met Mikey's gaze. "If he's stalking someone the ring would give him away. Besides, he indicated he would call me back when he learned something, so the fact that he hasn't implies that he hasn't run into or found anything noteworthy."

Raising his eyebrows, Mikey crossed the rest of the distance between them as he spoke. "Noteworthy? If he's in trouble, he's not going to be returning any calls. We need some answers, Donnie."

Donnie frowned at him, then reached for his T-phone and dialed Raph. He held it to his ear for a while and then lowered it again. "No answer. Doesn't necessarily mean anything, though. It was a risk that he'd leave reception range."

"When's the last time you had contact with him?"

Donnie twisted to look back at the clock. "Coming up on five hours."

"You let this go for _five hours_? _Donnie!_ "

"I know, I know!" Donnie ducked his head into his hands. "This is all my fault."

"We can figure that out later," Mikey asserted, grabbing Donnie's wrist and pulling. "Right now we have to go."

"Right." Donnie let his hand yield to Mikey's tugs and stood to follow him. "Um… Raph said something about the Purple Dragons in his last call."

Mikey let go of Donnie's wrists incredulously. "Your last contact is about the Purple Dragons, and you sit here for five hours waiting for the phone to ring?!"

"Let's just go, okay?" Donnie said, running past him toward the turnstiles.

Mikey shook his head, but then ran after him, double checking to make sure he had his weapons on his way out.


	10. Chapter 10

Raph was fuming when he finally came to. _So Leo's still alive. I have to get him out of here. Somehow. Whatever it takes._

His hands were now cuffed over his head and the acid was gone, leaving only fury. Whatever was happening, it needed to stop. He had to get control.

Somehow.

He had no idea how long he'd been soaking in ire before the phantom reappeared in the doorway.

"I know your game," Raph erupted. "I know he's still alive. You haven't killed him, so let him go."

In response, the phantom shoved a hand against Raph's chest and pinned him up against the wall. Searing pain shot through his entire shell from the touch, the pressure… more than it should have. Whatever the phantom had done to him, it had left him more susceptible to pain. As if it wasn't enough before.

Raph panted through gritted teeth, desperately clinging to any control he could summon, when his T-phone began ringing. The vibrating against his hip brought an unexpected addition to the pain, drawing a cry from Raph, but the phantom just held on in shock, staring down at the T-phone. When he released him, Raph stumbled a little before catching himself, wincing every time the vibrations renewed against his skin.

"Who is that?" the phantom asked.

A wince forced Raph to delay his response. "I don't know. Why don't you answer it and find out?"

With very slight hesitation, the phantom retrieved the T-phone and Raph felt his muscles involuntarily slacken once the vibration was gone. His mind worked quickly when he caught the phantom staring at the display, but he had no idea what to say or do to make this better.

"Donnie?" the phantom read. "He looks like you. Is he a ninja, too?"

"You won't believe any answer but yes," Raph replied vehemently, panting in an effort to steady his body.

"He's coming for you, isn't he?"

After a pause, Raph answered evenly, the answer surprising him into a mix of relief and despair. "No. He thinks someone else has me."

"But he'll figure it out."

Processing everything rapidly, Raph took a course of desperation. "Let him. Let him come and get Leo. Let him walk out of here with him. Safely. He doesn't have to ever know I'm here. I won't call out. Leo doesn't know I'm here, either. No one does. Let him come, and let them leave."

The phantom backed up a step. "You really do think I'm crazy if you think you'd be enough for me when I could have all three." He dropped the phone and crushed it under his foot.

"No," Raph breathed.

The hood twisted away from him before the phantom strode out the door. "I will have them all."

"No! NO!" Raph yanked on the chains above his head, jerked hard enough to lodge the cuffs under the skin of his wrists. He cried out and momentarily stilled with the shock of the intensified pain. Taking a breath, he then struggled harder, but this new angle allowed him no leverage. Finally giving into the futility of it, he slackened, a single tear navigating its way down his stricken face. "NOO!"


	11. Chapter 11

Leo stared at the shadowy man, unimpressed. The theatrics were wearing on him, and now that the acid junk had worn off, all he really wanted was some food. _Seriously, how long is he going to keep this up?_ Maybe if he could get his T-phone to the floor, dial Donnie with his toe. In the meantime, all he had to do was stay alive.

The phantom approached slowly, then almost cautiously pressed a hand against Leo's shoulder. The touch sent a strange surge of pain through him, sparking a gasp and a cringe. As the phantom let forth a sound like an attempted laugh, Leo was forced to flinch away from the rising pain. _Why did that hurt so much?_ When he finally made the connection to the acid stuff, fear took over almost entirely. Everything that touched him now would hurt him. Just from contact. And then pressure? Like being stabbed. He couldn't begin to imagine what an actual stab would feel like.

The phantom held back for only a moment, then gently, almost like a caress, drew his hand up and down Leo's arm, maliciously following the shudder under Leo's skin and reveling in the tense grimace that developed across Leo's face. When he removed his hand, Leo released a heavy exhale and started to slacken against the chains, the pain wearing him down.

"What good are your ninja skills now?" the phantom whispered, then retrieved Leo's katana from a fold in his cloak and placed the tip against Leo's shoulder. That alone wrenched a grunt from Leo, and he could do nothing against the scream that erupted as the blade pierced his skin and slowly made its way down to his cuffed wrist. Once the sword clattered down to the ground, Leo flinched repeatedly against the cuff, trying to escape the pain that floated away from the cut and through the rest of his body. While he was still dealing with the pain in his arm, his chest was assaulted once more by the phantom's fists, but this time, each hit felt like a bullet blowing through him. Pain so intense he cursed the training that kept him so easily conscious.

When the phantom finally backed away, pain still radiated through Leo's body and he dangled from the chains, unable to support himself. Trembling. The phantom placed a hand on Leo's other arm – the one with less blood – to feel the tremble, then drifted away. Leo watched him go, wondering how much of the man was truly left under the hood. Maybe he was being held by a demon.


	12. Chapter 12

Mikey and Donnie perched themselves on the ledge outside the upper window of the Dragon headquarters. Peering inside, they ascertained that they could easily take out the small number stationed there. They looked to each other, nodded, then crashed through the glass and landed solidly with weapons whirling.

The Dragons spun around and prepared themselves for combat, but no one advanced.

"Do you know how many times we've had to replace that window since you guys showed up?" Fong asked.

"We're only here for one thing," Donnie said. "Give us Leo."

Fong lowered his stance. "Leo? What makes you think we have him?"

"Umm," Mikey said with mock irritation. "Maybe _that_?" He jabbed his nunchuks toward the blue still wrapped around a Dragon's wrist.

"Oh, that?" Fong walked over to the guy, untied it, and threw it at Donnie's feet. "It's just something we stole off some little girl's backpack. He cut his wrist on a sharp edge and used it to stop the bleeding."

Donnie and Mikey both stared at the cloth in shock, then Donnie knelt to hold it, running his fingers down the length of it to be certain it wasn't a mask. "Then… you don't…." He stayed in a crouch for a moment, processing everything before looking up with dawning fear. "And Raph?"

Fong just faltered for words and then offered a confused shrug.

Donnie glanced back down at the faux mask in his hands, rubbing it absently. Once it all finally sank in, he hardened his expression and, without a word, flipped his way back up to the window. Mikey followed his lead, determination and fear and hope mingling inside him rapidly enough to make his stomach hurt.

"You know where they are, though, right, D?" Mikey asked as they sprinted along roof railings.

"I know where to start."

They ran faster than normal, driven by panic and the need to distract their minds. _Nothing's wrong, nothing's wrong_ , Donnie chanted. _If they aren't with the Dragons, then Raph found Leo and is with him in his dead zone, calming him down… or…_ The irrationality of believing that Raph was calming Leo down discredited his entire theory and made his stomach shiver. When his distraction almost made him trip over a drainpipe, he took a breath and returned to his original numbing mantra. _Nothing's wrong, nothing's wrong._

Even with their excessive speed, it still took them over four hours to reach the dead zone in which Donnie had lost Raph, since their visit to the Dragons had taken them in the opposite direction. But since they had no idea exactly where Raph had been when they'd lost contact, they didn't find the parking lot until close to midnight.

Donnie halted at the edge of the lot. The shock at finding it empty left him more breathless than the run. He'd thought for sure they'd be here.

"Is this where you lost him?" Mikey asked, peering under overturned trash cans and inside broken windows.

"I think so. Like I said, I'd lost his signal, but this looks like what he described. And it's definitely in the right area." Against better judgement, Donnie couldn't help lifting the dumpster lid, just in case.

"How do we know where he went from here?" Mikey asked, abandoning his search and turning to Donnie with growing uncertainty.

Donnie glanced across the parking lot toward the residential district, then down the street, the view disappearing under rows of broken street lights. Then he closed his eyes. "I have no idea."


	13. Chapter 13

Raph worked himself back to rage, the only thing he knew that consistently worked. Only rage could block panic and pain and desperation all at once. When he thought of that phantom finding Donnie and Mikey, hurting them like he'd hurt him and Leo, killing them all, he forced fury to be his reaction over fear. It occurred to him that his anger would only make the phantom hurt him more, and maybe even Leo, but this, too, he threw onto his mounting pyre of rage.

When the phantom came back, Raph automatically started filling the silence as he glided in. "If I have to get out of here myself, the deal's off and I kill you before I take back my brother. Let him go! Now! I'm losing my patience here. Let him go, or I _will_ kill you!"

The phantom let Raph finish before flashing a blood-tipped katana. "Leo's weak. He's not worthy of the honor of being a ninja."

Raph's fury wavered as he eyed the reddened blade. "What are you talking about?"

The phantom paused theatrically, then said with a voice steady despite the rasp, "He couldn't take it."

"You're lying!" Raph jerked forward, reopening the wounds and again shooting the acid sting down his blood-striped arms. "Leo's too strong for you!"

"Maybe. Maybe not. It doesn't really matter now," he replied, tucking the blade back into his cloak. "The question is, are you?"

"Any day of the week," Raph growled.

"I don't mean physically, though that will be tested. I mean mentally. I like watching you fight the sound of screams."

With a jolt, Raph listened to see if that was a cue to pay attention, but he heard nothing. "So he is alive, then," he whispered in relief.

"I never said I'd killed him. Only that he couldn't take it."

Raph looked back to the phantom and swallowed, then stated as evenly as he could, "Look, I've already told you, you can do anything you want to me. No protest. No struggle. I'm yours, but only if you don't have my brothers."

The phantom tilted his head in apparent amusement. "I want them just because I enjoy watching what it does to you."

"You sick-! You're going to hurt them just to hurt _me?!_ That's messed up!"

"But it works. And to make sure, I'm doubling the stakes." The phantom lifted Leo's T-phone to show Donnie's face on the call display.

The rage melted away as fear battled its way back to the front of Raph's mind. "No, please. Please just let them leave."

The phantom headed for the outside, but paused at the door. He hesitated, even put his hand up on the doorframe in debate, then turned back to Raph. "What would you be willing to do to keep him from me?"

Raph worked to keep his voice steady, knowing it didn't matter what he answered. "I don't know what more I can offer you."

Stepping back into Raph's direct line of vision, the phantom stared at him a moment before asking decisively, "Do you promise you won't resist me? Do you promise you won't fight back?"

Raph's chest flooded nauseatingly with the most hope and fear he'd ever felt at once. "Yes."

After a pause, the phantom approached and slowly knelt by Raph's feet. "Remember… I have Leo."

Raph felt his whole body tense and his legs tingled in anticipation of the faux freedom. His eyes closed tightly as he forced air into his constricted lungs, bracing himself to stand still regardless of what happened. This would be the hardest thing he'd ever done. And Leo's life depended on him following through.

The phantom leaned forward and unlocked the cuffs. Then he stood and placed both hands on either side of Raph's head, close enough for Raph to see the outline of his eyes. "I have your brother."

There was barely a pause before the phantom thrust his knee into Raph's abdomen and stepped away on the follow through. Raph staggered a bit, but pressed his heels into the wall against all instinct. _Maybe_ he could fight his way out of here, but the chances were slim. Even if he could escape, he was too weak by now to fight him. And if he lost, there was no telling what would be done to Leo.

The phantom raised his head just far enough for his chin to enter the light, revealing a satisfied smile. "I can work with this."

As the phantom drew Leo's sword and advanced, Raph closed his eyes and braced himself against the wall. This might not work, but it was the only chance he had. Keeping a solid image of Leo in mind, he let the phantom hit him and slash him until the pain made him too weak to cry out or even to react. Deal or no deal, there was no chance of struggling now.


	14. Chapter 14

They'd been wandering for hours, looking in windows and searching for some indication of which way Raph and Leo went, their progress hindered by trying to avoid the light of the afternoon sun.

"Mikey, slow down!" Donnie called. Despite the guilt Donnie felt at losing his brothers, it was Mikey who was the driving energy of the search.

"They're out there, Donnie, we have to find them," Mikey responded in a tone that almost sounded like a sung warning.

"We need a break, Mikey," Donnie said with weary irritation.

"If you need a break, fine, take one, but I'm going to keep looking."

"Mikey, stop!" Donnie halted and waited for Mikey to turn around. The angry flash in Mikey's eyes almost made Donnie relent, but he stood his ground. "We need to sleep. We need to find food. If they are in trouble, we're not going to be much good to them like this."

"You only say that because you still don't believe they _are_ in trouble!" Mikey said, nearly shouting as he doubled back. " _Wake up_ , man! Leo's been missing for _two days_ , and it's been a day and a half since you've talked to Raph! _We have to_ -" He was cut off by the ring of Donnie's T-phone.

They both jumped and stared at each other in shock before Donnie retrieved it. Glancing at the ID display, Donnie inhaled hope. "It's Leo!"

He quickly pressed the button to answer, but before he had the chance to say anything, a rasping voice drawled, "Where are you?"

"Who is this?" Donnie demanded. "And where did you get that phone?"

"From Leo."

Donnie felt his skin go cold.

The caller paused briefly, then said, "He's with me, but I'm done with him now."

"What does that mean? What did you do to him?" Donnie clutched his T-phone with both hands, but after a moment of inspiration, switched to speaker. Fluidly, he dropped the T-phone into Mikey's hands and grabbed Mikey's T-phone. The motion dropped him to a kneel by Mikey's feet as he began configuring it to trace the call.

"Why don't you find out for yourself?"

Donnie blinked rapidly. The voice was infuriatingly calm, adding to the tendrilous fear slinking through his core. "Where is he?"

"He's with me."

Donnie rolled his eyes but was thankful that the game would give him more time. He was having trouble concentrating on the buttons and had several times almost killed the trace. "Could you be a little more specific?"

"No, but if you can find him, you can have him."

Mikey felt his hands become unsteady and clutched the T-phone tighter, afraid to drop it.

Donnie felt that he was getting close to a location, but needed more hints. _Keep talking. Give me something._ "That doesn't help me much. I don't know where to even begin looking."

"Then you don't deserve him." And then the line went dead.

Donnie slowly looked up at Mikey, who stood frozen in horror. Donnie tightened his mouth before stating, "I didn't recognize the voice."

Mikey passed the T-phone back to Donnie with both hands and asked hoarsely, "Did he kill him?"

Donnie grimaced. He'd tried not to wonder. "I don't know, Mikey. I… I think maybe." He swallowed before explaining quietly, "I don't know why else he'd contact us."

Mikey folded his arms tightly around himself and shifted his gaze to the ground. "Do you think he has Raph, too?"

Donnie shrugged in despondent frustration and fluidly looked away, trying to rein in the chaos in his chest. "That would explain why he's not answering his T-phone. Although I suppose it is still possible the Dragons have him."

"But now you know where Leo is, right?" Mikey asked, his gaze returning to Donnie's face, trust shining through the deep fear.

Hope lit Donnie's eyes as he glanced back down to Mikey's T-phone still nestled in his hand, a small glowing circle pulsing back at him from the screen. "Yes. I do."


	15. Chapter 15

Raph hadn't known he'd fallen unconscious until he woke up. Some of his strength was back, but the pain still echoed in every muscle. He didn't have the energy for anger, but wasn't sure it would help him now, anyway, now that he'd theoretically won. He'd proven that he would be worth the phantom's time if Donnie was allowed to leave with Leo.

This had 'trap' stamped all over it, but all Raph could do now was reiterate the deal until it was carried out. And anger would only make him do something dumb.

Predictably, it wasn't long before the phantom was in the room, heading straight for him. He slowly leaned close to Raph's face and whispered, "He's coming. Just as you requested."

Raph just scoffed, "Prove it."

"He should be here by morning."

With a bitter laugh, Raph looked to the windowless walls. "That doesn't help me too much."

The phantom eased away and hovered for a moment before whispering ominously, "That's just what Donnie said when I told him where to find your brother." As he spoke, he lifted Leo's T-phone with the call log on the screen, displaying the call between Leo and Donnie from 3:38 pm to 3:42 pm. Eight minutes ago.

"No," Raph breathed. This was exactly what he'd banked on, but now that it was too late to take it back….

"I expect about six hours before he finds us. And six more to realize he's found us," the phantom said with dark amusement. "I'll need to use my time wisely."

"That means you're letting Leo go, right?"

"We shall see."

The phantom lashed out so suddenly that Raph couldn't stop his reaction – as the fist struck his side, Raph's knee came up and connected with the phantom's hip, throwing him across the room.

The blow had fallen on prior injuries, forcing Raph to focus only on sucking breath through his teeth and trying not to pass out from reawakened pain, intensified by residual injection. When he remembered the phantom, he squinted painfully through the room and found him across the cell, hunched over with both hands pressing against his hip. The image was so strange that it took Raph a moment to realize what he'd done.

"Wait, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it!"

Taking a running start, the phantom plowed toward Raph and threw his full force into Raph's chest. Raph cried out, both from the pain and the effort of not accidentally fighting back. The pressure was held until Raph's cry died to sticky grunts. He kept feeling his heels lifting off the ground, but every time, one word secured them to the floor better than chains.

 _Leo._

The pain resided even after the phantom released him, and Raph's jaw tensed against the unexpected continuation. _Don't fight. DON'T FIGHT._

"From now on, your door will be left open. Don't you dare let him know you're here."

"You can't be serious," Raph said, disdain slipping into his voice between the pain and fatigue.

Sudden emotion gave the phantom's voice an unearthly shrieking quality beneath the rasp. "I want you to hear something. This is for kicking me."

"No," Raph snarled brusquely, anger giving him energy. He jerked on his chains, yanking his shoulders in new directions to find some angle for escape. "If you want to hurt me, then hurt _me!_ "

"Don't worry, I will," the phantom hissed quickly, then strode toward the door.

"Stay away from him!" Raph demanded, but the phantom ignored him and vanished. With one last jerk on the chain, Raph bit into his lip to keep from calling out again. _Everything I do wrong comes back on Leo. Don't let him know you're here. If Leo hears you, he'll die._

 _Hold on, Leo. I'm getting you out of here._


	16. Chapter 16

When the phantom approached, Leo almost flinched just at the sight of him. Nothing he'd ever faced before had filled him with this much fear. Nothing else was so senseless, so pointless, so… closed to negotiation. There was no desire except his pain, nothing to bargain with. He had become a toy. He had never been so helpless. So afraid.

 _No, this would be worse if my brothers were here. At least I know they're still out there. At least I know they're still okay. Just as long as he never finds them._

The phantom approached quickly, angrily, and Leo braced himself as the fist hit his chest. Leo staggered from the blow, but it hadn't been much worse than a normal punch. After a few pants to recover, Leo's expression turned resolute. The phantom swayed back a step, shocked by the lack of reaction, but then stepped forward again with his other hand raised. Leo saw with horror that it held three more needles, each filled with twice the amount of red than the first.

They were thrust down and injected all at once, throwing Leo into such a haze of pain that he didn't even notice the way the cuffs tore deeper lines in his hands as he strained against them. His vision faded and all thought left him, chased out by the deep, dominating burn that melted his veins.

:[8]:

The tearing agony cascaded down the hall and sated his cell. The sound hit him and held him in an almost physical vise and his entire body tensed against it as he tried to learn to block it out.

But, for once, he couldn't even block the tears.


	17. Chapter 17

The street lights had been on for several hours before Donnie and Mikey arrived at the supposed location of the call.

It was a park.

"This can't be right," Mikey said, kneeling on the fence running along the park's edge. "Are you sure?"

Donnie leaned forward on the rail and grimaced. "No." He hated to admit it, considering it had taken them ten hours just to find this spot in the first place. His trace had kept shifting as they neared it, making him and Mikey fear that it didn't have a lock at all, but it had finally settled here. Smack dab in the middle of an open-air nature park. "I know it was this area, but the way the trace has been acting today, it's asking too much to expect exact coordinates."

He glanced around the fields. They were almost entirely empty, but were large enough to make the window lights on the other side look like distant headlights. "They have to be in one of the buildings on the edge of the park. We could search faster if we split up."

"Yeah," Mikey scoffed, straddling the rail to face him. "And get kidnapped faster, too. Whatever's out here got Leo _and_ Raph. I say we stay together."

Donnie sighed but consented. "Together it is then." He turned to scout out the most likely building and finally pointed to one in the center of the park, surrounded by newly-cut fields and sandy ball diamonds. "That looks like a fairly abandoned equipment shed, and it's almost directly under where the trace dot landed. Let's start there. It shouldn't take long, and then we can move to the perimeter."

Donnie vaulted the fence and led the jog toward the shed. Mikey followed, but now that they were getting close, his thoughts became toxic. "Hey, D? What are we going to find? What do we do if they're-"

"We fight, Mikey," Donnie responded, barely looking over his shoulder and not slowing his gait. "We don't leave them. No matter what happens. No matter what we find."

Mikey stopped and even took a few tentative steps back. "But… Donnie… what about after? What do we _do_ if…."

Donnie slowed and then stopped. At first he didn't move, but then he turned and faced Mikey almost over his shoulder. "We fight, Mikey. We fight forever. We'll have no other choice and, eventually, we'll be fine." He looked off toward the starry horizon for a moment before starting to turn back to the path ahead, but then reconsidered. Instead, he walked back to Mikey and put an arm over his shoulder. "I promise."


	18. Chapter 18

Raph woke up multiple times over what he assumed was several hours, each time to find silence and solitude. Almost like the phantom had turned in for the night. _Good. Get a long rest. More time that you leave Leo alone._

Hunger and blood loss were adding to his fatigue, but anger still managed to push its way through. But he wasn't sure who he was angrier at: the phantom or himself.

He should have tried harder, paid more attention, stayed in control. Leo's life is on the line, and he couldn't even control himself long enough to take a hit. It didn't matter how much it had hurt, _nothing_ had hurt worse than what happened after.

Especially knowing it was his fault.

 _No, it's not. The phantom did that. That wasn't you._

 _But I resisted. I knew what would happen._

 _I'm so sorry, Leo…._

He closed his eyes as the memory of the sound crashed back to the forefront of his mind. There had to be another way out. There had to be a way to change the agreement, to leave Leo out of it.

When he opened up his eyes, he was shocked to see the phantom, sitting on the floor across the cell from him, propped against the wall with one arm resting on his raised knee. Raph instantly jerked forward and remembered just in time to not shout as he accused, "You _traitor!_ When I mess up, you hurt me, not him, got it?"

"You know, that counts as struggling," the phantom said calmly, looking away with apparent boredom.

Raph twisted his wrists, trying to pull them from the cuffs. "I said I won't struggle against what you do to me, but I will fight anything you try to do to him. If you touch him again I will break out of here and kill you! You know I can!"

"Oh, are you rescinding your offer?" the phantom asked casually, finally looking at Raph but still lounging on the floor.

"No, it still stands, me for him, and I gave you me, so you stay away from him!"

"How could I expect you to cooperate if you're the only one at stake?"

Raph winced as a twist shoved the cuff a little deeper into his skin than he'd expected, but the stab didn't deter him for long. "I am letting you do whatever you want to me in exchange for his release. _Whatever you want_. How is that not enough for you?!"

"Because you failed."

Raph stilled instantly, a curtain of cold slowly filming over him.

The phantom let the words hang for a moment, then stood and slowly crossed the cell, speaking in a low, steady, dangerous tone. "You knew that would happen. That was the deal, right? If you don't struggle, if you don't resist, I don't hurt him _and_ I let Donnie take him. How is _that_ not enough for _you_?"

He had reached Raph now, but his words, the reminder of the consequences kept Raph still.

"You blew the first part of the deal," the phantom continued. "So here's the new one: if you mess up again, I keep him, and we play this game forever. That's the only condition."

Raph knew he could take the phantom out at this distance: one kick to the waist to put him in line of fire and then a kick to the head to knock him out. Or kill him if he could manage enough power. But then what? He wakes up and kills Leo?

 _No, there's only one way out of this now_.

The phantom drew Leo's sword and placed it on the wall above Raph's head, resting the edge against Raph's forearm. Raph winced in anticipation, but the blade didn't move.

"One more chance on the full deal," Raph tried. "Me for him. Entirely. I fight nothing if you don't touch him again. And you don't touch him as long as I don't struggle. That's the first half. If you let Donnie leave with Leo as is, then I continue the deal as though you can still kill him. That's the second. Please, I can do this."

The phantom leaned forward, close enough for Raph to see the darkness of the threads that still held the blood of whatever warrior had died in the cloak. "You get one… last… chance," he said in a ragged whisper as he slowly dragged the blade through Raph's skin.

Raph gritted his teeth against it and stayed rigid. _I can still keep this guy off Leo. I just have to stay in control this time._ And then he felt a small dose of the injection spurt into his veins. Not enough to make him lose control, but enough to make him wish he could. It shot through him, slicing into every injury one by one and branding them to his body.

 _Okay, okay, relax. Just relax. Everything you do makes it worse. Just relax. It will be over soon. Donnie will get Leo, and then it won't matter. Relax!_

The flames still laced his blood when the phantom started punching, the fists splashing through the established pain to create their own. The pain compounded with all the rest swirling through him, and the phantom didn't stop until Raph hung limply. At least the fresh weakness made it easier to not fight back.

"I've never met anyone like you," the phantom said in a tone near admiration. "So willing to give of yourself to save your brother."

Too weak to lift his head, Raph kept his faintly vengeful eyes on the ground as he scoffed quietly. "Maybe you would if you captured more ninjas in pairs. We're very loyal." He hated the way his voice was breaking, the way his breaths came in slow pants, the way he knew he'd be flat on the ground if it weren't for the chains catching his hands.

"Maybe," the phantom allowed. "I want to keep you. Your willingness will sustain me for a long time."

Raph shook his head. "Only if you let Leo go."

"They're here. They're outside."

The air froze for a moment as Raph's breaths quickened. "They?"

"Who knew you had so much to lose?"

Raph lifted his gaze just far enough to see the phantom's facelessness. So it was finally going down. Now is when his fate was sealed as this lunatic's forever prisoner or when he got them all killed.

He had no idea what he was feeling.

"They haven't figured it out yet, but they're close. If you are silent, I will let them leave with your brother. If they find out you are here, I will capture them all and leave you here to die. I am anxious to see if what you say is true. About loyalty. About how much they'd be willing to go through for you. In the meantime, I want to make sure you can't fight your way to them."

Raph tried to brace for the advance, but he was too weak even for that. Instead, he just closed his eyes, trying to escape into all the training he'd ever had about meditation and patience, but it all shattered with the first slash of Leo's blade.

 _At least this way I know I won't fight back. Leo's free._


	19. Chapter 19

Morning bands were stretching across the sky as Donnie and Mikey dropped to the sand under the playground. They'd searched every floor of every abandoned building on the block – and even some of the occupied ones when they could – without finding anything that could help them. "I don't know what to do, Mikey. I can't track them. I can only go off what I found out from the call."

"Maybe they're under the sand," Mikey groaned, slowly falling back to make sand angels as a weary way of digging.

Donnie watched him with fatigued disinterest, but then perked up. "Mikey, you're a genius!"

"I am?!" Mikey froze his angel and raised his head.

"They're _underground!_ They _have_ to be!"

"Yeah!" Mikey exclaimed, jumping up, but then looked around skeptically. "Um… D? How do we get there?"

Donnie released a sigh and lowered his face. "I don't know." He turned, and the grief quickly escalated to frustration. "Darn it, I don't know!" he shouted, drawing his staff and throwing it to the ground. "There could be an access point from any one of these buildings. We could be standing on the trap door for all I know."

"Mmm, I wouldn't put a trap door in the middle of a sandbox."

Donnie pinched the bridge of his nose and humored him. "Where would you put a trap door, Mikey?"

"Over there." He pointed over to the small nature preserve that was more like a breeding ground for weeds. "Where no one's allowed to go."

Donnie stared at the overgrown field in surprise. "You're right." After a moment, he shook off the shock of having a new lead. "Let's go."

They sprinted toward the field with new fervor, new hope, ignoring the fact that they still had no idea how to find this alleged trap door, or if it was even there at all.


	20. Chapter 20

Raph hadn't slept much since the phantom had left him. He'd just hovered in a state of hazy fatigue as the cell drifted in and out of focus. He knew he needed sleep, especially to compensate for the healing and lack of food, but he needed to stay awake. _I have to know what's happening. Always_. He had slept some, but every time he woke up infuriated with himself.

At the moment, Raph was staring at a random blurry chain, willing his vision back into focus, ignoring the headache and the burn resting on his skin and the tremble in his malnourished muscles. It didn't matter how he felt, he had to stay awake.

Suddenly the chain swayed unnaturally and Raph had to close his eyes before the room began to follow, but it was too late. Even in self-made darkness, he felt the chains tug his hands in different directions as the floor tilted. Finally, he opened his eyes and focused on a spot on the ceiling with his head grounded against the solid wall, blinking rapidly and breathing deeply until the world settled.

He wondered if the phantom was holding up the deal or if Leo was dying. And now Donnie and Mikey were in the picture.

And he couldn't stop him from taking them, too.

 _But they're not here yet. And they'll be fine when they do get here. As long as they don't find me._

Blood from the bite in his lip oozed over his tongue, and he spat it to the ground. As the blood and saliva splattered on the concrete, an image of Leo covered in blood flashed before him. Raph blinked, taken aback by what hit him. Had the phantom taken advantage of the excessive injection and hurt him again? How much blood was there? Was he even conscious?

Leo was just down the hall, but he didn't even know if he was bleeding. Or alive.

 _No, stop it!_ Raph chastised himself. _This won't help you!_

But now it was all he could see. He imagined him chainless but broken nonetheless, locked inside a pain-induced coma and all the strength Raph had ever admired in him leaking out with his blood and swathing the floor around him.

What had he slept through? What had been happening to Leo? Why had it been so long since he'd heard anything?

And suddenly it was there. It was faint at first, but distinctive nonetheless.

The scream.

The familiar one.

But this time, as it built, it began to take form. "Raph!"

"No," Raph breathed. He tugged the chains, longing to respond, to escape, to jump between Leo and whatever was hurting him. But even now he couldn't let Leo know he was here.

"Raph! Help me! Please!"

 _No, he doesn't actually know I'm here. He'd be dead if he did. Don't respond. Stay silent!_

"Please, help me! Raph!"

The pleading grew louder, and Raph realized in a bolt of panic that it was actually getting closer. Seconds later, the phantom appeared, dragging Leo behind him. Raph was stricken speechless as Leo was thrown into the middle of the cell. There was no blood, but even so, Leo struggled against pain that held him to the ground.

"You _told_ him," the phantom hissed at Raph, leaning forward in emphasis, his voice again a chilling combination of growl and screech.

"No! I didn't! He figured it out! That's not his fault!"

"But it _is yours!_ " The phantom quickly knelt behind Leo and stared steadily at Raph as he rammed another injection into Leo's veins.

Raph's vision clouded with black and red and all he could see through it was Leo clawing the ground, pleading to him. Leo was trying not to show the pain, but it wasn't long before he started to fail. Raph cringed as Leo's voice rose, piercing into him.

It paralyzed him.

He closed his eyes and braced against the sound, the screams, wondering what the rules were regarding when you were allowed to wish for your brother's death.

But then Leo gradually stilled, the pain pressing him into weak submission. "I… I can't… Raph, please…."

The hoarseness of the whisper, the panic it held, the desperation lacing it finally unearthed Raph's vengeful fury and he jerked down against the chains, trying to rip them from the wall.

 _He's right there! I have to get to him! I have to stop this!_

Then the phantom raised another injection, and Raph had to almost verbally coax himself into relaxing his struggle. He winced as his confused muscles twinged and he had to remind himself to breathe as he stared at Leo fading in front of him. "Please don't," Raph whispered.

But the phantom ignored him. The liquid burst easily into his skin, renewing Leo's adrenaline and tensing him into a rock-solid brace against the floor. "Raph!"

" _Leo!"_

The phantom smashed the points of Raph's sai deep into Leo's side, and Leo didn't even have time to cry out before the whole room vanished, sucked back into Raph's bloodspot on the floor with a jolt that hurt Raph's chest.

Raph sucked in air as though he'd just been thrown up by the ocean and heaved with heavy pants as the aura of the dream dissolved into the jarring silence.

It _had_ been a dream, right?

Reality began to separate from dream and the cell gradually came back into focus. And Leo was nowhere to be seen.

The chains rattled over his head as his hands trembled.

As everything settled back to where it should be, Raph tried to fight the smothering grief, but its strength quickly overpowered him. It tore deep into him, fusing with his core, and he knew he'd been permanently dampened. But at the moment, that was actually a good thing.

 _Hold on Leo. Please just hold on. I've won. You're free. Just hold on._


	21. Chapter 21

Leo's injection hadn't worn off yet. Most of it had, but the tail end still lingered. He'd been hanging there for hours with nothing to do but deal with it as it persisted. The burn was just deep and constant enough to make lights and dark shapes flutter through his vision, so when natural light began to stream through the ceiling on the other side of the room, it took him a moment to register that it was steady. It was real. He was still wondering why it was there when Donnie dropped through the light, landing on the boxes below.

"He's here," Donnie whispered, and Mikey dropped down, too.

"No," Leo breathed. He'd meant to shout it, but simply didn't have the energy.

The two of them approached cautiously, then hovered behind the boxes on the edge of Leo's space. Donnie nearly collapsed against the boxes in relief when he saw Leo's eyes. "You're alive."

"Leo…" Mikey said quietly with astonished disillusionment. He had not been prepared for blood. Or chains. Or the way Leo stood as though it hurt too much to raise his head all the way.

"Don't worry, buddy, we're getting you out," Donnie said, easing out from his cover. He drew his staff and laid it on a box for easy retrieval later. More likely than not, he'd be carrying Leo out of here, and it would only be in the way.

"No," Leo tried again, at least finding the strength now to speak above a whisper. "Don't stay for me. He'll catch you."

"It's okay," Mikey said, smugly raising his nunchuks into the air. "We can take him."

"We're getting you _out_ , Leo," Donnie repeated, then knelt to pick the lock on the cuff around Leo's ankle.

Leo winced as the cuff rocked briefly against his leg. "Just make sure he doesn't come up behind you. That's how he got me."

Mikey nodded and kept watch. Donnie smoothly released Leo's feet, careful to keep from touching the deep cuts around his ankles. When Leo's feet were free, Donnie moved to the cuff around Leo's wrist, but had some trouble with the sway of the chain. He eased his hand around Leo's arm for leverage, but Leo suddenly cried out, causing Donnie to jump back as though he'd been bitten. Leo's eyes closed tightly as he flexed and unflexed his hand to try to shift the gnawing pain away.

"What happened? What did I do?" Donnie asked, backing up even further.

Leo seethed through his teeth for a moment, trying to regain enough calm to answer. When he did, his words were heavy with incredulity and a hint of shame. "He injected me with something that amplifies pain."

"But… did I hurt you?" Donnie asked, confused and feeling desperation blanket around him.

"Even minor contact…." Leo looked away.

"We can't _touch him?!_ " Mikey worked to keep his voice down as he expressed his shock.

"I'm sorry, Leo," Donnie concluded after a moment. "But we're getting you out. Just try to keep it down, and I'll try to touch as little as possible."

Leo nodded and closed his eyes in brace, trying to ignore the pain still present from the injection and preparing for its crushing aftereffects. Donnie pursed his lips in caution for a moment before continuing to pick the lock. Leo flinched every time the cuff shifted against his skin, and occasionally even let out a grunt that made Donnie jump.

When Leo's hand was finally released, he fell instantly, and Donnie lurched forward to catch him on his back. Leo sucked in his breath at the impact and whimpered unbidden grunts into Donnie's ear, spurring Donnie to work quicker on the final lock.

Mikey kept seeing shadows move, but when nothing came out of them, he realized he was just spooked by finding Leo in this condition. He closed his eyes briefly to rein it in. _Okay, chill, we're fine. Leo will be okay. We can get him out, and whatever's out there, we can fight off._

Donnie's work was hindered by Leo's free arm wrapping tensely around his shoulder, but finally, the cuff released and Leo's arm dropped into Donnie's hand. "Okay, I've got him, Mikey. Let's go."

"But isn't Raph here?" Mikey asked.

"No," Leo said, his voice breaking as testament to the pain cascading through him.

"Are you sure?" Donnie asked, resisting the urge to bounce to shift Leo's weight.

"He never said…." Leo paused, and he took a deep, fragmented breath before asking, "Why isn't he with you?"

Donnie looked unwilling to answer, and Mikey hesitated, scared of Leo's reaction. "He disappeared looking for you."

Leo slowly lowered his forehead into Donnie's shoulder. "Get him out first," Leo said.

"We're not leaving you here," Donnie said.

"And I'm not leaving _him_ here," Leo countered, his voice dangerous despite his weakness. "Put me back if you have to. I'm not leaving until you find him."

"That's ridiculous," Donnie retorted.

"We don't even know he _is_ here," Mikey injected a little meekly. "Even you have no evidence that he is, and Raph mentioned the Purple Dragons before he disappeared, so they probably have him."

"We already tried that, Mikey. If they had Raph, they would have taunted us with him," Donnie reasoned.

"Or turned him over to Shredder by now. We just took their word for it," Mikey objected. "But they're our strongest lead, and we don't have much time to debate this. Let's get Leo out and come back if we still can't find him."

"How can you even suggest that?" Leo protested, anger beginning to strengthen him. "Look at me! You really want to risk leaving Raph in this? Who knows what he's been _doing_ to him!"

Mikey got close and hissed, "Look, if Raph's not here, we're putting everyone in danger by searching for him and staying here longer than we have to. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but it's going to be hard enough getting you out making a straight line for the door without wandering around this whole dang place waiting to get caught, especially when it's more likely that the _Dragons_ have him, so let's _get out of here_ and search _them!_ "

The fervor in Mikey's voice caught both Leo and Donnie off-guard, and Leo finally relented by glancing away. Still, Donnie and Mikey hesitated before actually moving to potentially leave Raph behind.

As they eased their way through the boxes, Leo's arms kept weakly pressing against Donnie's chest, desperate for leverage against whatever pain was racking his body. Donnie's heart shattered every time.

 _This is right,_ Donnie told himself. _Raph probably isn't here, and we might lose Leo looking for him. We don't know how badly Leo is hurt; we have to get him help. This is right._

Seconds before they reached the opening into natural light, Leo choked, "Guys, wait, my weapons!"

"We'll get you knew ones," Mikey said, already stationed on top of the box to hoist himself up into the grass above them.

"No, I see them – over there."

"Right," Mikey said, jumping down and moving in the indicated direction. He approached warily in case it was a trap, but there they were, Leo's weapons. They were just laying on top of a box, hidden from Leo's previous view, but otherwise unprotected.

But Mikey hesitated. "Um, guys?" When they looked over, he raised the single, blood-rusted sai. For a moment, no one moved. Barely breathed.

"He didn't use that on me," Leo whispered. "That's not my blood."

Raph was definitely there. And he was likely dying.


	22. Chapter 22

The phantom had hovered in Raph's cell, silently occupying the corner. Waiting.

After several minutes, he'd stated in a lowered voice, "They're inside. I'm going to watch their exit. You asked for proof, so I will be recording them until they leave. Please, give me a reason to let you starve and rot while I kill them."

And then Raph was alone, all his previous terror snapping back to him, intensified by the moment. They were here. They were all here. And the phantom was watching them.

His chest heaved in panic and indecision. If they found him, there was a chance they could all escape, but if he was with them, he would only slow them down, and there was no way all four of them would get past the phantom untouched. Besides, there was always the bet.

 _If you stay silent, they're home free_. And that settled it.

"Raph!"

Donnie's distant whisper shuddered through him. They were looking for him! _Only because they can't leave without making sure. They don't know. They can't know._

"Raphael!"

The whispers were getting closer, more urgent. Raph turned his head away from the ajar door, biting his lip again to keep from calling out to them. He wanted nothing more than for them to go away and leave him behind. Except for them to find him and take him with them.

He tried not to move as the voices grew louder, afraid the chains might rattle and give him away.

"Raph! We know you're here!" Mikey's voice. Raph slid his eyes shut and hoped they were just saying that. They couldn't know for sure. How could they? "Help us find you!" They'd go away soon.

 _Walk away, walk away, walk away!_ Raph begged. They couldn't find him. They'd give up and take Leo home and look for him later but he'd be gone and they'd be safe.

"Right, like he'd try to hide from us." Donnie's voice. Then a wrenching grunt Raph recognized as Leo's. "Shh, shh, Leo, I'm sorry!"

"I know." Leo's voice was strained, but Raph almost broke down at the realization that Leo was not only alive, but okay enough to talk. And the guys had him. They'd get him home and he'd be okay.

"Hey, look!" Donnie's voice. Right outside the door. Raph's eyes flew open and he stared intently at the door, willing it to shut, to lock itself, to camouflage, anything. But after a moment, Donnie's hand appeared in the crack and cautiously pushed the door back.

"Ah!" Raph breathed fervently, though relief flooded through him at seeing his brother's face. He hadn't had time to realize how much he missed them. "No! Get out of here."

Still out of view, Leo let out a shuddering exhale. "He had Raph, too. He had Raph all along."

"Geesh, what is it with you guys and getting rescued?" Mikey asked, still outside the door. Donnie was peeking inside, too stunned to continue right away.

With Leo so close, Raph could hear him clearly, nearly every breath quietly catching in his throat. The sound speared his chest.

Donnie recovered with a few blinks. "Here, Mikey, take Leo. I'm going to get him loose." Donnie disappeared and there was a short scuffle while Raph squeezed his eyes shut in panic. How to explain? If their places were reversed, what would make him leave Donnie?

 _Nothing._

The realization made him grimace in frustration.

Donnie hurried back in once Leo was securely stationed on Mikey.

"No, you don't understand," Raph said as Donnie approached. He had to at least try. "You have to leave me here. I can't go with you."

"And why not?" Mikey asked, entering and hovering by the door.

Raph glanced over to him and finally saw Leo, mostly limp and supported entirely by Mikey's shell. One arm was sleeved in red and there were several open bruises running down the left side of his face, but beyond that, he appeared untouched. There was no doubt now; Leo had definitely been injected. The confirmation infuriated him all over again. That Leo had been subjected to that…

Leo made eye contact and held it, his gaze a mixture of rage and regret. "Oh my gosh. Raph," Leo breathed. His eyes shifted around, taking in all the blood before returning to hold Raph's gaze.

"Leo." Raph's voice was almost inaudible. Seeing the aftereffect was almost worse than hearing it happen. Before it was a ghost. Now it was concrete.

Donnie released the blade at the end of his staff, drawing Raph's attention back to him. "No, Donnie, wait!" Remembering just in time to not shout, the words came out as a harsh whisper, and he even struggled a little as though afraid Donnie was about to stab him.

Dumbstruck, Donnie hesitated and glanced to Mikey, who nodded. "I'll keep watch, man," Mikey said, backing out. "You just get him down." Mikey closed the door as he disappeared. Maybe Donnie could get Raph to talk if it was more private, and Mikey didn't care what had to happen to get him home.

Alone, Donnie turned back to Raph with fire in his eyes. "You're nuts if you think we're-"

"You have to," Raph cut him off.

Donnie tightened his mouth and resolutely knelt to release Raph's feet, only to dodge a kick. "Seriously?! What was-! …Wait…." The bloody cuffs were already laying on the ground beside Raph's entrenched ankles. The wraps were unravelling, and there was an extra stream of blood near the ninja blade still loosely caught in them.

"Raph, how did you get these cuffs off?" Donnie asked, cautiously slipping the blade out and away from Raph's damaged skin.

Raph faltered. "I, uh…." The less they knew the better. But he couldn't come up with an explanation better than _I don't know_. "I didn't."

Donnie glanced up at the small crater in the wall by Raph's head, then down to the chain tipped in concrete lying on the other side of the cell. It didn't add up. Apparently, Raph had almost escaped, and still his feet had been released. And if he had come so close to escape, why was he now so determined to stay? When Donnie finally spoke, his voice was softened by the horror that was slowly setting in. "What happened, Raph? Why did he take the chains off?" He paused for a moment, searching for scenarios. "Is it related to why you won't let us take you? Raph, what have you done?"

"Please, Donnie, you have to just trust me."

"Not when you look like that." Donnie's voice adopted a note of anger. "Not until I understand. You need to have a very good reason before I leave you behind, and if you don't tell me what it is, I'm pretending it doesn't exist."

Raph closed his eyes. _Nothing would make me leave him. Not even this. I would take him and just fight through whatever comes. But maybe, if he understands…._ He inhaled to calm his nerves before explaining softly, "Because I promised if he… I promised… I'd stay. It was my choice, Donnie."

The silence in the air screamed loud enough to make Raph wince.

"Why?" Donnie asked, struggling to make sense of the information. In what world would Raph ever not fight something that was hurting him?

"I didn't know what else to do."

"Why? You had to know we were coming for you."

One breath to stay in control as the events of the last couple days rode in on his terror and fatigue to hit him full force. "He was hurting him…." His breaking voice dropped to a shaky whisper and Donnie felt his chest freeze. "I could _hear_ him, Donnie. I couldn't do it. So I made a deal. If you didn't know I was here, if you couldn't find me, he would let you leave untouched and with Leo alive."

"But we _did_ find you," Donnie said, keeping his voice calm even though he felt his stomach ripping itself out. "Deal's off. We might as well take you, now."

"No," Raph said with more anger than he'd intended. "You're not listening! If you take me with you, he will kill Leo! And probably you and Mikey, too."

"Well, we already have Leo, so we'll take our chances," Donnie said, raising his staff once more.

"We don't have time for this! Donnie, please, you have to get Leo out of here. You don't know what he did to him."

"Apparently a lot less than he did to you!" Donnie shot back, unable to keep his eyes from flitting over Raph's lacerated skin. "You're _dying_ , Raph! Let us help you!"

"Ugh, no, you don't understand! I'll be fine, but you have to get Leo out. Maybe, if you leave me behind, there's a chance he'll let the deal stand."

"And then what?" Donnie asked.

Raph blinked, confusion stealing most of his fervor. "What?"

"What's the plan?"

"The… the plan? That _is_ the plan."

Donnie sighed. "That's not a plan. Or did you expect us to not only leave, but to also not come back?"

Raph's silence answered for him.

"Not happening, dude," Donnie said, then slashed his blade against the chains wrapped around Raph's hands. Donnie caught him under the arm and touched Raph's lip to find the source of the blood rimming his mouth. Satisfied it was a bite and not an indication of internal bleeding, he lowered him the rest of the way to the ground, then leaned close to harshly whisper, "We would _never leave you._ It would _kill_ us." Then he stood and moved to open the door.

"No," Raph grunted, slowly writhing against the pain that shot through him. The floor scraped into his cuts. His muscles ached as they tried to remember how to move. He closed his eyes against the lightheadedness from the drop and tried to process everything quickly enough to turn things back to his advantage, torn between relief and anger and admiration. "You can still get out."

"Not an option anymore," Donnie stated, kneeling beside Raph to pick the locks around his wrists. Even detached from the wall, the weight of the severed chains and the sharp edges would only hurt him further if left on. "I'm ashamed it ever was."

"To be fair," Mikey clarified from the now-open doorway, "it was only an option before we knew you were here."

It tore through Leo to watch Raph curled on the ground, creating a fresh puddle of blood, caught somewhere between unendurable tension and limp weakness. It takes a lot to take his brother down, and imagining how it had happened made him feel like he'd swallowed glass. He grunted and had to press his head into Mikey's neck to stave off the dizziness that followed.

It took Raph a moment to realize what Donnie was doing, but once he did, he pulled his arm away. Donnie followed his weak retreat, but Raph shifted again.

Donnie sighed sharply and said quietly, "If you don't stop, I'm going to be forced to hurt you."

Raph jerkily pulled his arms entirely into his chest. Donnie grimaced and, as gently as he could, grabbed Raph's wrist and held it in place while he continued picking the lock, wincing when he felt his fingers fall into Raph's skin. Raph grunted and locked his hand into a fist, but didn't stop trying to pull away.

"You're not hearing me," Raph panted, eyes closed from the pain in his wrist as he continued to fight, speaking quietly enough that only Donnie could hear. His voice was slow and resolute, remarkably calm as he worked to make sure Donnie understood every word. "He will kill Leo. He will find us and kill him. But he's safe if you leave me here."

Donnie clicked open the first lock and threw the cuff behind him, then he got down onto his elbows and looked Raph in the eyes. He held the gaze steadily for a long moment before saying calmly, "You're going to have to trust us."

Raph took in the gaze, the strange serenity in it glazing the pain and fear underneath, and he felt something cave inside him. He did trust them. But they had no idea what he'd opened them to.

When Donnie held out his hand to Raph, Raph hesitated, then slowly relinquished his cuffed wrist. Donnie just let Raph's hand rest in his for a moment, maintaining the calm eye contact, before looking away long enough to break into Raph's final hold.

When Raph felt the cuff ease open, empty dread spread through him. He'd never imagined that being rescued could make him feel so trapped.

Kneeling parallel to him, Donnie eased himself under Raph, trying to ignore his gasps of pain. But when he stood and Raph was settled, Donnie's breath caught at how limply Raph laid on his shell. This was deeper than just weakness. This was surrender.

"You good up there, bud?" Donnie asked softly.

"Donnie, please," Raph whispered one more time, then weakly buried his face in Donnie's neck.

Donnie felt a drop break between his neck and Raph's cheek, and suddenly it was hard to breathe. Raph seemed so sure. Maybe he should…. They could come back for him… could leave a tracker on him in case he was taken somewhere new…. Raph would be okay. Raph was always okay. He was tough, fortified, could take anything.

But now he was broken.

 _No, we're not doing this_ , Donnie resolved. Whatever was here that Raph was sure he could endure had shattered him and Donnie wasn't about to leave him in it any longer than he had to.

"Come on," Donnie said with quiet confidence, taking a few tentative steps toward the door. "We'll take care of you."

"Please don't make me do this," Raph breathed past Donnie's jaw.

The plea sent chills through him, made him hesitate again. It stopped him so suddenly he almost tripped. For a moment, his mind was paralyzed as the words, the tone, the strange desperation echoed rapidly over and over in his head.

But he could feel Raph's blood pooling on his shoulders and sliding down his legs, and the sensation angered him enough to harden him against any reluctance Raph might display. They were getting out of here. _All_ of them.

"The phantom's probably watching," Leo said, his voice still breaking slightly.

"The phantom?" Mikey asked with a hint of incredulity.

Raph glanced over at them and felt renewed panic at the continued look of pain on Leo's face. He had tensed so much that Mikey was having trouble hanging onto his arms. Raph began weakly trying to pull his wrists from Donnie's hold. "Donnie-"

"We'll fight him, Raph," Donnie said darkly, moving toward the door despite Raph's physical resistance.

"Carrying us?" Raph protested. "No way. That's _asking_ for an ambush."

"He's right," Leo confirmed. "You can't get out like this."

Donnie sighed his irritation. "We're going to try. We'll be careful. We've done worse."

"Guys," Mikey said, new terror weighing his voice. "I think I know why you call him the phantom. And he's blocking the way out."

"Then we have no choice," Donnie said with sudden fierceness, already lowering Raph and sitting him against a wall. "Mikey, leave Leo here. We're shutting them in. Guys, we'll be back."

Looking absolutely ferocious in their calm, ninja way, Donnie and Mikey disappeared behind the closed door to encounter the phantom, leaving Raph and Leo alone on the floor of the cell.

Raph closed his eyes and pressed tensely into the wall, panic swirling through him. He began trying to figure out what to say if Donnie and Mikey lost and the phantom came to get him and Leo. He wasn't sure he'd be able to fight him away, but he was going to try. It would at least buy him enough time to make the phantom listen. He had to keep the deal in place. It was their only chance.

 _I was enough for him before. If I still am, then he'll let them all leave. If not…._

He grimaced at the physical pain that twinged through him at that thought, and then sensed Leo shifting to sit closer to him. "Leo," he breathed through clenched teeth and between sharp exhales. But he stopped there, unsure of what to say. I'm sorry? Are you okay? I tried?

"I'm so sorry Raph," Leo said in a broken whisper, now right next to him.

The gentle apology startled Raph enough to make him catch Leo's gaze. He even laughed incredulously before asking, "For what?"

"If I'd stayed in touch… if I hadn't…"

Raph rolled his eyes and looked away again, back toward the door where he could faintly hear the clangs and thuds and battle cries. "We've all left before. And we all will again."

"I didn't know… you…. I thought he only had me. And he only got you because you were looking for me."

Raph sighed in frustration. "Leo!" Cringing at his own abrasiveness, he paused, collecting himself. "Please don't do this. Everything that happened… I'd…" he struggled for ambiguous words. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat to find you. What happened to me is my fault. Drop it."

Leo stayed silent for a moment, then quietly said, "They're going to be okay, you know?"

"I know," Raph muttered resentfully.

"They're stronger than he is, and they were prepared. He can't hurt them. Or you."

"Leo, I'm not-"

He interrupted him softly. "You're bleeding really badly."

Raph looked down at his arms. It was true. Now that blood was flowing through them like it should, he was straight up bleeding out. Before Raph could respond, Leo cautiously cupped Raph's wrist in his hands. Both flinched, but Leo persisted. Carefully, he unwrapped the ragged binding and rewrapped it as tightly as his diminished strength would let him.

"Give me your other hand," Leo demanded softly when he'd tied off the first one, and Raph silently obeyed.

As Leo gently and methodically moved his hands around Raph's wounded arm, the panic began to melt away, and Raph was slammed by how soothing it was to have someone taking care of him. To be the one protected after feeling so vulnerable. His adrenaline started to slip away and he began to yield to his fatigue as he let Leo try to stop the bleeding.

When Leo finished, he began unwrapping his own binding.

"Leo…" Raph protested.

"Let me," Leo responded, not looking up from his work.

"But you need…."

"Yours will never hold on their own."

"But-"

"Let me, Raph," Leo demanded calmly, and Raph fell silent, too grateful and exhausted to protest further.

With slowing movements, Leo secured his bindings on top of Raph's. He'd considered wrapping further up on Raph's bleeding arms, but the cuts around his wrists were scariest, and they had already begun to bleed through the single layer. And he could feel Raph losing energy in terrifying waves.

Leo worked carefully, hindered by trying to not hurt Raph further and by working through his own pain. He'd almost made it all the way through the other arm when he began to visibly tense.

"Leo?" Raph started, but again found himself at a loss. Leo's hands weakly let go of the wrap and he looked unsteady before wincing violently and falling away. "Leo!" Raph reached out and caught his arm, pulling him back against himself. Once Leo's head was in Raph's shoulder, Raph wrapped his free hand protectively around Leo's face. "Talk to me."

"He… gave me… an injection…"

"Yeah, I know the one," Raph said bitterly, sparing Leo the need to explain.

Leo's eyes fluttered open for a moment as he debated pressing for more information, but then said simply, "It hasn't… entirely worn off yet." He pressed into Raph's shoulder for stability as the pain rose, aggravated by movement. But he fought the urge to cry out, couldn't let Raph know just how bad it was – he would only worry, and Raph didn't need that right now. But as the incessant residual acid raged on, multiple tight whimpers slipped free, attesting his continued fight.

"It's been there this whole time?" Raph whispered almost to himself, letting his hand slide down to Leo's neck. How many hours had it been since he'd attacked the phantom?

When he felt tears shatter against his shoulder, he had to squeeze his eyes shut to fight back his own.


	23. Chapter 23

The phantom had approached them slowly, confidently. Silently. Mikey and Donnie had planted themselves before him defiantly, spinning their weapons in their hands to both prepare and intimidate. Donnie attacked first, the anger propelling him forward almost in a haze, screaming and flipping over his twirling staff, using the momentum of his landing to add force to his blow.

Mikey was right behind him, using a wall to jump over Donnie and land his nunchuks against the phantom's skull. Together, they knocked him back. Donnie spun toward him in a roundhouse kick, but the phantom dodged, hurtling Donnie past him. Mikey had to roll to avoid Donnie's falling body, then used the roll to strike low at the phantom's knees. The phantom fell to a kneel, but dodged Donnie's next blow and shifted his knee to settle on Mikey's nunchuk.

Trapping Mikey momentarily, the phantom ripped Mikey's T-phone away and punched him in the face with it, crunching it and knocking him away. Mikey hit the wall hard and sat in a daze long enough for the phantom to stab his neck with a glowing red needle. Before he could compress it, Donnie's staff caught his wrist and threw the needle. Donnie grabbed it from the air and lunged toward the phantom to deal his own medicine. The phantom planted himself and, at the last moment, struck the side of his hand against Donnie's wrist, slamming the needle into the wall where it shattered.

With a gasp, Donnie tried to spin his staff into the phantom's face, but the phantom caught it in a solid fist and wedged its other end in the corner where the floor met the wall. He used the leverage to wrench the staff from Donnie's hand and caught Donnie's wrist before he could react.

Then he spoke, his gliding rasp more chilling in person, especially as he gripped both of Donnie's wrists. "If you leave him here with me, I will let you take Leo. You walk out of here with no resistance if I'm allowed to keep him."

Mikey exhaled his surprise and slowly tilted his head in shock. Seriously? An exchange? Did he really expect them to accept that?

When Donnie didn't respond, the phantom kicked him to the ground. He used his falling momentum to crush Donnie's T-phone, then placed both knees on Donnie's arms. Once Donnie was pinned, the phantom reached into a new fold and retrieved another needle. As he moved to make the injection, Mikey appeared in the air behind him, letting loose a battle cry as both nunchuks came crashing into the back of the phantom's head. The phantom toppled forward but rolled back to his feet.

"How about we just defeat you and walk out of here with both of them?" Mikey retorted as he leapt over Donnie, nunchuks whirling at every angle. But the phantom was frustratingly agile and blocked or dodged every strike.

Donnie sat up with a groan and checked on his T-phone, but it was hopelessly broken, and Mikey's lay a little ways down the hall in miniscule pieces. The other two were probably on the phantom. That he could use.

"T-phone self-destruct!" Donnie shouted.

There was a small bang as a puff of smoke rose from the phantom's hip, and the baby explosion was enough to distract him. Mikey took a large enough step to catch the hem of the phantom's cloak and pushed him back, toppling him to the ground.

Donnie jumped in front of Mikey and put the end of his staff at the phantom's throat. The phantom released a low, gravelling chuckle. Donnie, in disgust, quickly drew back his staff to a safe distance and let the hidden blade shoot out. At this, the phantom slowly raised his hands in surrender.

"Fool!" Mikey spat. "You never capture just _part_ of a team!"

Donnie's hands trembled. He was so close. Just one thrust, and it would all be done. He closed his eyes, and felt himself harden into a scary calm with the images of his brothers as clear as though they were there. The phantom should _pay!_

He slowly inhaled flame, then felt Mikey's hand on his taut bicep.

"Donnie?"

His voice had sounded tentative, but when Donnie glanced over, he saw Mikey's solid, determined sincerity staring back at him.

"I'm behind you whatever."

Donnie glanced back down at the phantom, the rage colliding with regret to constrict his chest. He couldn't do it. Not when Mikey was accepting partial blame. No, if he did this, it would be when he was the only one dealing with the consequences.

His expression became suddenly confident, and with a smug smile, Donnie retracted the blade, but then spun the other end into the phantom's temple.

After sucking in a shaky breath that surprised him, Donnie took two angry steps forward and used the end of his staff to pull back the hood, revealing the face of a normal man – out cold. He stared at him a moment longer, considering it again, then turned resolutely and strode back toward the door, leaving Mikey to chain him in case he woke up.

When Donnie opened the door to the cell, Raph flinched his hand from Leo's jaw and grabbed his remaining sai while turning toward the door, scooting back closer to Leo and throwing his arm across him. Leo, who had been wincing against Raph's shoulder, only opened his eyes wearily in reaction.

Donnie jumped back from the growl, hands raised. "Whoa, Raph! It's just me."

Raph held his stance for several heavy breaths. Then he slowly relaxed against the wall to keep from falling on Leo as the flash of adrenaline leaked away.

"The phantom's out cold. He can't stop us now," Donnie said. He stepped around Raph to kneel in front of Leo, who now leaned against Raph's back, eyes closed again in a controlled grimace. "Is he okay?" Donnie asked softly.

"He will be," Raph answered, looking away with anger-hardened eyes. "It wears off."

Donnie unwrapped his own bindings and leaned forward to swiftly secure them around Leo's unprotected wrists.

Mikey entered a few moments later and picked up Raph's arm to finish tying off the binding Leo had left undone. Watching Mikey's progress, Raph said, "Donnie, he's going to be really mad when-"

"It doesn't matter, Raph. We get out first. Then we figure out how to keep him away."

"But-" Raph didn't know what to say that wouldn't tell Leo too much, but it didn't matter; Donnie shot him the steeliest look he'd ever seen from him, effectively halting anything else he might have said.

As Donnie lifted Leo off the ground, Mikey double-checked the security of Raph's other binding. Satisfied that it would hold, he slid Raph's second sai into its holster and pulled Raph from the ground, apologizing every time Raph grunted.

"Oh, come on!" Raph said with a grimace as they headed out into the hall. "You guys are supposed to be ninjas! Can't you walk with a little less jerk in your step?"

Donnie glanced once more at the phantom tied up down the hall, just to be sure they were safe to leave.

 _But we're not safe. He'll come after them._

 _It would be so easy._

He could almost feel himself lowering Leo to the ground, then walking over to the phantom, pressing a foot to his chest, and thrusting his blade through his face.

 _So easy_.

And then reality whooshed back, making him wince and painfully look away.

The man was unconscious. They could leave. They knew he was out there, so they could be ready for him next time. And they had to get Raph and Leo home.

 _Never kill in anger_.

Subconsciously tightening his grip on Leo's wrists, Donnie turned and followed Mikey away, trying to banish the images of himself mutilating the phantom's body, trying to dispel the desire to go back.

"Donnie," Leo breathed, flinching against the grip but letting him hold him. "We'll be okay, Donnie."

Donnie grimaced mournfully, and didn't look back.

"I'm sorry!" Mikey said in response to Raph with genuine distress. "You're heavy! I'm trying!" He bounced to shift the weight and Raph cried out and tensed against him. "I'm sorry!" Mikey paused and began lowering Raph to start over with a better hold.

"No," Raph said quickly, changing his mind about his protest. "Just go." But after Mikey resumed walking, Raph pulled one arm from Mikey's grip to brace himself against the shell.

As Donnie caught up to Mikey, Raph glanced over to Leo and found him already watching him. There was still pain in Leo's eyes, but either it was easing or he was controlling it better. Raph guessed the latter, given that he was still panting slightly.

Raph closed his eyes and rested his head against his comfortingly bound arm, trying to sort through all the different things shooting through him. They would be in danger now, and it was his fault. He should have known his brothers would never let him follow through with that deal. He shouldn't have made it.

But maybe Leo and Donnie were right. Maybe it didn't matter. Maybe, now that they know he's out there, they could fight him if he comes back.

But at the moment, he felt protected. The air was calm. Mikey and Donnie had taken out the phantom. And they could again. It wasn't ideal, but it was enough for him to cling to. Enough to, for the moment, dispel all the pain and panic.

He nestled just a little deeper into Mikey's neck and let his brother carry him home.

b~~FIN~~/b


End file.
